A cooperation agreement is set to be signed between the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan and Iran, according to which Iran will extend to Tajikistan long-term credit worth $12.5 million. Tajikistan will use the money to develop its hydroelectric capacity.
Tajikistan has abundant reserves for generating hydroelectric power and indeed has the capacity to export the power to its neighbors. But with the current state of country’s power infrastructure, it is not even able to supply electricity to its own citizens in winter.
In an interview with Mashhad, Bahrom Sirojev, the chairman of the state-owned Barq-i Tojik electricity company, said that Tajikistan was currently running at 10 percent of its potential capacity. He said that the construction of two hydroelectric power stations—Roghun in central Tajikistan and Sangtuda in the southern Khatlon Region was continuing.
Roghun had a planned capacity of 3.6 million kW and on average will generate 13 billion kW of electricity per annum. $1.3 billion dollars are needed to complete its construction. The building of the Sangtuda hydroelectric power station started in 1987 and $300 million dollars are needed to complete its.
Sirojev said the collapse of the Soviet Union, the disruption in economic relations among the former Soviet republics, and internal conflicts in Tajikistan were among the reasons for deterioration of the local electricity infrastructure. He added that 115 billion Tajik rubles are owed to the Barq-i Tojik Company, with the number growing from day to day. – (Albawaba-MEBG)
